Gareth Southgate’s side were good value for a lead given to them by Jamie Vardy’s powerful 26th-minute finish, fired past keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma after Jesse Lingard’s quickly taken free-kick caught the visitors out.

England were fortunate to escape some defensive lapses, especially when Ciro Immobile headed over in the first half – but looked to be closing out a confidence-boosting win until a late intervention from VAR.

Referee Deniz Aytekin consulted VAR after Burnley defender James Tarkowski tangled with Federico Chiesa, and decided the England debutant had stepped on the Italian’s foot, allowing Lorenzo Insigne to beat Jack Butland with just three minutes left.

England’s players complained long and hard about the award of the spot-kick – but VAR looked to have got this one right, much to Southgate’s frustration.

Source: BBC

]]>http://sport.citifmonline.com/2018/03/28/var-denies-england-win-over-italy-in-friendly/feed/0Italy part ways with Venturahttp://sport.citifmonline.com/2017/11/16/italy-part-ways-with-ventura/
http://sport.citifmonline.com/2017/11/16/italy-part-ways-with-ventura/#respondThu, 16 Nov 2017 04:43:13 +0000http://sport.citifmonline.com/?p=77083Having missed out on qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™, Italy have parted ways with coach Giampiero Ventura, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) announced on Wednesday.

The 69-year-old’s departure comes after Gli Azzurri were beaten 1-0 on aggregate by Sweden in their Russia 2018 qualification play-off, having drawn the home leg 0-0 in Milan on Monday.

It will be the first time in 60 years that the Italians will not be appearing at a World Cup, having last missed out on the global finals back in 1958.

Ventura succeeded Antonio Conte in the role following the conclusion of Italy’s UEFA EURO 2016 campaign. During his tenure, the four-time world champions finished second behind Group G winners Spain in qualifying, which led to this month’s two-leg play-off against the Swedes.

Italy’s elimination resulted in goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon retiring from international football after 20 years.

The news of Ventura’s departure follows Marc Wilmots leaving his role as Côte d’Ivoire coach on Tuesday. The former Belgium coach brought his brief tenure in charge in the Elephants to an end after the West African nation also missed out on qualification for Russia 2018.

Source: FIFA

]]>http://sport.citifmonline.com/2017/11/16/italy-part-ways-with-ventura/feed/0Gianluigi Buffon retires as Italy lose to Sweden in World Cup play-offhttp://sport.citifmonline.com/2017/11/14/gianluigi-buffon-retires-as-italy-lose-to-sweden-in-world-cup-play-off/
http://sport.citifmonline.com/2017/11/14/gianluigi-buffon-retires-as-italy-lose-to-sweden-in-world-cup-play-off/#respondTue, 14 Nov 2017 05:09:19 +0000http://sport.citifmonline.com/?p=76971A tearful Gianluigi Buffon said he was “sorry for all of Italian football” as he led a wave of international retirements after a World Cup play-off defeat by Sweden.

Italy were held to a 0-0 draw in Milan and failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1958.

Buffon, 39, said: “It’s a shame my last official game coincided with the failure to qualify for the World Cup.

“Blame is shared equally between everyone. There can’t be scapegoats.”

Buffon’s Juventus team-mate Andrea Barzagli and Roma midfielder Daniele de Rossi also ended their Italy careers, while Giorgio Chiellini is expected to join them. The quartet have won 461 caps between them.

Goalkeeper Buffon made 175 appearances for his country in a 20-year career – lifting the World Cup in 2006 – and believes the future could still be bright for the four-time world champions.

“There is certainly a future for Italian football because we have pride, ability, determination and after bad tumbles, we always find a way to get back on our feet,” he said.

Italy manager Giampiero Ventura – under contract until 2020 – did not speak to national television after the defeat but arrived at a news conference 90 minutes after full time.

‘I haven’t resigned – yet’

“I have not resigned because I haven’t spoken to the president yet,” Ventura, 69, said.

“I’m sorry for being late, but every player I had the privilege of working with, I wanted to salute individually.

“Resignation? I have to evaluate an infinity of issues. We will meet with the federation and discuss it.”

Buffon’s retirement was not the only one on a night of change for Italy.

“I don’t know what we missed, all I know is we’re out of the World Cup, it’s a unique disappointment and leaving this group of lads is painful,” said defender Barzagli.

“The era of four or five veterans comes to a close, the one of the hungry young players coming through begins and that’s how it should be.”

‘Send the strikers on!’

There was a bizarre moment late on when De Rossi was asked to warm up but pointed instead at Napoli forward Lorenzo Insigne, a player Ventura refused to call upon despite pressure from Italian media and supporters.

“I just said we were near the end and had to win, so send the strikers to warm up!” said De Rossi. “I pointed to Insigne too.

“I just thought perhaps it was better that Insigne come on instead.”

In the end Roma midfielder De Rossi, 34, was not used either as Italy failed in their search for the goal that would have taken the tie to extra time.

‘Apocalypse’ – reaction in Italy

The article said: “We will not be with you and you will not be with us. A love so great must be reserved for other things. Italy will not participate at the World Cup.

“It is time to start thinking about what else we can do in June: concerts, cinema, village festivals. Anything but watching Sweden play at the World Cup – that would be too painful.”

Iker Casillas, who lifted the World Cup with Spain in 2010 and won 167 international caps, said: “I don’t like seeing you like this. I want to see you as you’ve always been, as what you are for so many – as a legend. I’m proud to have met you and to have faced you many times.”

Who next for Italy?

Gazzetta have outlined four candidates who could replace Ventura to “rebuild from rubble and work for the 2020 Euros”.

Former AC Milan, Juventus and Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti is the “most liked” name to take over, having been sacked as Bayern Munich boss earlier this season. He also leads the poll on the Gazzetta website.

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte, who left the Italy job after Euro 2016, has also been mentioned as he is “a bit tired of England”, while ex-Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini, now at Zenit St Petersburg, and Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri have also been touted.

Source: BBC

]]>http://sport.citifmonline.com/2017/11/14/gianluigi-buffon-retires-as-italy-lose-to-sweden-in-world-cup-play-off/feed/02018 World Cup qualifiers: Spain dominate Italy, as other groups remain tantalisingly closehttp://sport.citifmonline.com/2017/09/03/2018-world-cup-qualifiers-spain-dominate-italy-as-other-groups-remain-tantalisingly-close/
http://sport.citifmonline.com/2017/09/03/2018-world-cup-qualifiers-spain-dominate-italy-as-other-groups-remain-tantalisingly-close/#respondSun, 03 Sep 2017 15:43:07 +0000http://sport.citifmonline.com/?p=74157THE DAY REPLAYED –In the eagerly-awaited pick of Saturday’s European FIFA World Cup Russia 2018™ qualifiers, Spain recorded a surprisingly resounding 3-0 win over Italy to ensure they finished the evening as undisputed Group G leaders, while Groups D and I remain as close as ever. The match between Croatia and Kosovo was postponed until Sunday 3 September because of adverse weather conditions in Zagreb.

Match of the daySpain 3-0 ItalyAfter battling to a well-deserved draw against Spain in Turin last October, Giampiero Ventura’s Italy had few chances to make their mark on the reverse fixture in Madrid.

Isco curled a wonderful free-kick over the wall after 13 minutes to put the home side ahead, and with the Italian plan to threaten with crosses from the wings gradually falling apart as the match wore on, Isco’s second goal – a low shot from the edge of the penalty area after 40 minutes – was the logical conclusion to the first half.

Substitute Alvaro Morata wrapped up the three points in the 77th minute thanks to a perfectly-placed assist from Sergio Ramos, as the four-time world champions failed to discover their attacking spark.

“I’m very glad that I could help the team on such a special evening with two goals against Italy at the Bernabeu,” said Isco after the match. “It was a perfect evening, a perfect match. I think we deserved the win. We’ve shown for a long time that we play as a unit, and we demonstrated that again tonight against strong opposition.”

ElsewhereGroup DThere is still everything to play for in Group D, where leading trio Serbia (15 points), Republic of Ireland (13) and Wales (11) remain unbeaten.

The matchday’s biggest winners were the Serbians, who defeated Moldova 3-0 in Belgrade thanks to goals from Mijat Gacinovic (20’), Aleksandar Kolarov (30’) and Aleksandar Mitrovic (81’), and are now clear group leaders. Despite taking the lead through Shane Duffy in Georgia, the Irish – who were level on points with Serbia going into Saturday’s matches – had no answer to Valeri Qazaishvili’s 34th-minute equaliser.

Meanwhile, fans in Cardiff witnessed a very special moment, as 17-year-old Benjamin Woodburn of Liverpool, who has played just 82 English Premier League minutes (all during the 2016/17 season) in his career to date, made his senior international debut for Wales in the 69th minute of their home game against Austria before scoring the only goal of the match less than 300 seconds later.

The result means that Austria’s World Cup dream is all but over.

Group GHaving opened up a three-point advantage over Italy by beating them 3-0 at home, Spain will hope that this is enough to get them over the finish line.

Despite the disappointment of defeat, there was better news for the Azzurri from elsewhere in the group. While Albania’s 2-0 home win over Liechtenstein (with second-half goals from Odise Roshi and Ansi Agolli) came as no surprise, Goran Pandev’s 73rd-minute goal consigned Israel to a 1-0 home defeat by FYR Macedonia, leaving the Italians relatively untroubled in second place, four points ahead of the Albanians and seven points ahead of fourth-place Israel.

Group IAlthough Group I was already one of the most exciting and closely-contested groups in European World Cup qualifying, the situation escalated even further on Saturday.

Ukraine’s 2-0 victory against Turkey temporarily secured them top spot after in-form Iceland suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to a Finland side that had only collected one point from the campaign before the day’s action, with Alexander Ring scoring the winning goal after just eight minutes in Tampere with a superb free-kick finish.

Nevertheless, a draw in Zagreb against bottom-of-the-table Kosovo will be enough for Croatia to climb back into pole position after their match on Saturday was postponed due to bad weather.

Player of the dayYears of speculation about a big move to one of Europe’s top leagues finally came to an end for Ukraine winger Andriy Yarmolenko this summer, with the 27-year-old now plying his trade for Borussia Dortmund in the German Bundesliga and UEFA Champions League. In the same week that his transfer was made official, Yarmolenko breathed new life into Ukraine’s World Cup hopes by scoring both goals in his side’s 2-0 home win over Turkey. “He’s been wanting to play in a top European league for a long time now,” said former Ukraine international Andrey Voronin. “Although he hasn’t managed to get that move for the last few years, he can finally show what he is made of on the world stage.” He may yet get a chance to shine on the biggest stage of all.

Patson Daka scored his second goal of the tournament inside the first four minutes to give the Junior Chipolopolo an early lead. Emmanuel Banda found Daka with a carefully-weighted and perfectly-timed through pass, and the forward finished the move with aplomb, chipping his shot past Andrea Zaccagno.

The Italians responded with wave after wave of attack, but failed to find the crucial breakthrough. The match then took a significant turn right before half-time when, after a video assistant referee review, Giuseppe Pezzella received a straight red card for a shove on Edward Chilufya that denied an obvious goalscoring opportunity.

Against all odds, Italy scored an equaliser within five minutes at the start of the second half. Riccardo Orsolini scored his fourth of the tournament when he guided home a header from the back post after a cross by Giuseppe Panico

Fashion Sakala then matched Orsolini with his fourth of the tournament in the 84th minute with a well-placed strike into the top corner from 12 yards. Zambia thought they were through, but substitute FedericoDimarco had other ideas.

The substitute curled in a superb free-kick inside Zambia’s left post to send the match into extra-time. Zambia nearly scored in extra-time when substitute Kenneth Kalunga fired just wide of goal after neatly juggling the ball past Italy’s defence. The Africans would be made to rue that missed opportunity.

In the 110th minute, two substitutes combined to score the winning goal as Dimarco’s corner kick found Luca Vido eight yards from goal and he headed in from close range to send the Italians into the U-20 World Cup semi-finals for the first time.

Wales 1-1 Georgia
Wales were unable to add a second win in three games after being pegged back by a doughty Georgia side. The UEFA EURO 2016 semi-finalists looked well set after Gareth Bale headed in early on from a Joe Ledley corner, but Tornike Okriashvili nodded in Valeri Kazaishvili’s cross after the break, and Kazaishvili hit the crossbar as Georgia claimed their first point.

Moldova 1-3 Republic of Ireland
Ireland and Serbia are now clear of the pack in Group D, but Martin O’Neill’s side were given a scare in Chisinau when Moldova scored with their first shot of the game on half-time to cancel out Shane Long’s early opener. Two James McClean goals in eight minutes midway through the second period sealed the points.

Serbia 3-2 AustriaAustria’s 13-match unbeaten run in EURO and FIFA World Cup qualifying came to an end in a topsy-turvy encounter in Belgrade. The visitors twice cancelled out first-half goals from Aleksandar Mitrović but had no answer to Dušan Tadić’s strike 16 minutes from time, the Southampton man adding a goal to two earlier assists.

Group GFYR Macedonia 2-3 ItalyCiro Immobile extended Italy’s unbeaten sequence in World Cup and EURO qualifiers despite his side flirting with disaster in Skopje. Andrea Belotti volleyed the Azzurri in front on his third international appearance, but Ilija Nestorovski and Feran Hasani buried quick-fire efforts after the break to potentially end the visitors’ run at the 53rd time of asking; Immobile had other ideas.

Albania 0-2 SpainSpain leapfrogged Albania at the Group G summit courtesy of a patient victory away to the early section leaders. Julen Lopetegui’s men enjoyed 73% possession in the first half but struggled to threaten their well-organised rivals, before a mistake from Etrit Berisha allowed Diego Costa to break the deadlock, substitute Nolito then doubling the advantage.

Israel 2-1 Liechtenstein
Tomer Hemed scored twice as Israel made it two wins from two following their opening loss to Italy. The Brighton & Hove Albion forward struck both goals in the first 16 minutes to take his campaign tally to three, though Liechtenstein reduced the deficit as 19-year-old Max Göppel buried their first effort on the road to Russia 2018.

Group IIceland 2-0 Turkey
Iceland remain level on points with Croatia at the top after dispatching Turkey via a frenetic spell of football close to the interval. The opener was harsh on the visitors as Ömer Toprak diverted an effort from Elmar Bjarnason into his own net, but Iceland seized the moment to add a second two minutes later, Alfred Finnbogason rifling in following Kári Árnason’s header over the Turkish defence.

Finland 0-1 Croatia
Croatia remain top of the section after posting a hard-fought away victory in Tampere. Fresh from hitting a hat-trick in Thursday 6-0 defeat of Kosovo, Mario Mandžukić delivered the only goal, heading in Andrej Kramarić’s shot from point-blank range.

Ukraine 3-0 Kosovo
Three games into their bid, Ukraine finally have a win on the board – and it proved comfortable in the end against a Kosovo team on one point. Amir Rrahmani deflected in an Artem Kravets shot to put the hosts in front, and they finished strongly as Andriy Yarmolenko kept up his record of scoring in every qualifier so far before substitute Ruslan Rotan also registered.

Source: UEFA

]]>http://sport.citifmonline.com/2016/10/10/ififa-2018-wc-qualifiers-immobile-rescues-italy-spain-break-down-albania/feed/0Italy salvage draw with Spainhttp://sport.citifmonline.com/2016/10/07/italy-salvage-draw-with-spain/
http://sport.citifmonline.com/2016/10/07/italy-salvage-draw-with-spain/#respondFri, 07 Oct 2016 08:00:56 +0000http://sport.citifmonline.com/?p=62819Italy salvaged a draw in a 2018 World Cup qualifier against Spain with a late Daniele de Rossi penalty.

Spain had 72.4% of possession in the first half but failed to score.

They finally took the lead after 55 minutes when keeper Gianluigi Buffon missed an attempted clearance to leave Vitolo to sidefoot in.

Italy rarely threatened but, after Sergio Ramos tripped Eder, De Rossi equalised to extend his country’s unbeaten run in qualifiers to 52 games.

The last time the Azzurri lost a World Cup or European qualifier was in September 2006 when they were beaten 3-1 by France on their way to reaching Euro 2008.

Italy and Spain now have four points from two games, with Albania, who beat Liechtenstein 2-0, top of Group G on six points.

Israel won 2-1 in Macedonia in the other game in the group.

No revenge for Spain

Spain were out to avenge their defeat by the Azzurri in the last 16 of Euro 2016 and quickly took control of the match.

They went close when Andres Iniesta played a one-two with David Silva only to see a weakly struck left-footed shot saved before Gerard Pique sent a close-range header straight at Buffon.

Spain looked set for victory after 38-year-old Buffon’s error as he completely missed the ball when trying to clear a through ball to Vitolo.

However, substitute Ciro Immobile brought some much-needed energy and threat to the home attack and a rash Ramos challenge allowed De Rossi to score.

Iceland win after late drama

Alfred Finnbogason has scored in both of Iceland’s 2018 World Cup qualifiers (Image credit: Getty Images)

Iceland shocked England when they knocked them out of Euro 2016 and seemed to be on course for a reality check when trailing Finland 2-1 in their first home 2018 World Cup qualifier since then.

But Alfred Finnbogason equalised in the 90th minute before Fulham’s Ragnar Sigurdsson, who scored in the 2-1 win over England, got a winner in the fifth minute of added time.

Finland had opened the scoring through Teemu Pukki and, even though Kari Arnason equalised, Robin Lod quickly restored the visiting side’s lead.

Gylfi Sigurdsson missed a penalty to compound Iceland’s misery before the late drama.

Jonas Hector slotted the winning penalty in an epic shoot-out as Germany overcame Italy for the first time in major tournaments to win a compelling UEFA EURO 2016 quarter-final.

It was the first time these two teams had played a tie that had gone the full distance and after 18 penalties, seven of which were missed, Hector struck the clincher following Matteo Darmian’s failed attempt.

Earlier, Mesut Özil had broken the deadlock in the 65th minute only for Leonardo Bonucci to reply from the spot and help a stubborn Azzurri side take Germany into extra time at the Stade de Bordeaux. Penalties followed with each team ceding advantage back and forth: Simone Zaza, Graziano Pellè and Bonucci missed for Italy, Thomas Müller, Özil and Bastian Schweinsteiger for Germany.

Germany had enjoyed the majority of possession but Italy also carried a threat, and once they equalised, they managed to neutralise the Mannschaft’s attacking potency – even so, it is Germany who will face France or Iceland in Marseille on Thursday with a place in the final the prize on the line.

Eyes were fixed firmly on how Germany were going to set up after Joachim Löw’s decision to replace Julian Draxler with Benedikt Höwedes. They started in a 3-5-2 and had the early territorial supremacy and possession, with the 16th-minute loss of Sami Khedira not affecting their flow as the midfielder succumbed to injury and was replaced by Schweinsteiger.

With Italy seeking to hit on the break, a half-chance for Mario Gomez was all Germany could muster in the opening 40 minutes until the game opened up. First Gomez headed over, then Müller passed up the opportunity to open his EURO finals account as he could not quite sort out his feet after Toni Kroos found him well placed in front of goal.

However, Italy immediately went closer than either side when Emanuele Giaccherini ghosted into space down the left and his cross found Stefano Sturaro – only the outstretched foot of Jérôme Boateng flicked the ball wide from the midfielder’s drive.

Müller had a shot acrobatically cleared by Alessandro Florenzi and Boateng drove over as Germany’s pressure first built, and then told. The breakthrough was easy on the eye as Gomez threaded in Hector, whose deflected cutback was clipped in at the near post by Özil. Löw’s men went looking for more and only a miraculous save from Gianluigi Buffon denied Gomez.

It was to prove absolutely key as Italy came forward and, after Pellè screwed a shot just wide, received their lifeline. Giorgio Chiellini’s flick-on struck Boateng’s raised arms and Bonucci calmly put away the spot kick. Extra time came, and Julian Draxler’s overhead narrowly cleared the bar, but it was to be penalties and – eventually – Germany’s night.

Man of the match: Manuel Neuer (Germany)
There were two great goalkeepers on show in Bordeaux but it was Neuer who made the difference in the shoot-out – his presence as much as anything helping his team to a historic victory.

Löw’s gamble
The Germany coach hinted before the match that he would adapt his team to Italy’s style but mirroring their formation was maybe not what most observers thought he meant. It seemed to have worked as Hector got forward from wing-back to create Özil’s opener – his first international goal since the 4-1 friendly win against the Azzurri – but Germany went to concede for the first time in the finals.

Azzurri ethos
Shorn of two vital players, Daniele De Rossi and Antonio Candreva, Antonio Conte’s men proved once again to be both more than the sum of their parts and highly resilient. It was not to be for Italy but their never-say-die ethos nearly helped them past the world champions.

Source: UEFA

]]>http://sport.citifmonline.com/2016/07/03/euro-2016-germany-finally-defeat-italy-to-stride-into-semis/feed/0EURO 2016: Dominant Italy brush aside champions Spainhttp://sport.citifmonline.com/2016/06/27/euro-2016-dominant-italy-brush-aside-champions-spain/
http://sport.citifmonline.com/2016/06/27/euro-2016-dominant-italy-brush-aside-champions-spain/#respondMon, 27 Jun 2016 19:02:22 +0000http://sport.citifmonline.com/?p=59380Italy brought to an emphatic end Spain’s eight-year reign as European champions and avenged their 4-0 defeat in the final four years ago, as goals by Giorgio Chiellini and Graziano Pellè earned them a UEFA EURO 2016 quarter-final meeting with Germany on Saturday.

In doing so, Antonio Conte’s team sounded a warning: they will take some stopping on this evidence. But for Spain goalkeeper David de Gea, this could have been a rout, Kyiv in reverse.

Chiellini’s bundled finish opened the scoring on 33 minutes. De Gea kept out Éder’s free-kick but Emanuele Giaccherini’s immediate follow-up enabled the centre-back to tap in.

Italy had dominated from the off. De Gea was at his agile best to repel Pellè’s early header and again to turn Giaccherini’s overhead kick on to a post, although a foul had been given.

Marco Parolo nodded wide and Sergio Ramos shanked one over the bar from Mattia De Sciglio’s menacing low cross.

Spain mixed things up after the break as Andrés Iniesta grew in influence, but still there were chances for Italy, notably when De Gea denied Éder.

Álvaro Morata, Ramos and Iniesta, with a stinging volley, threatened for Spain, though it was Pellè who had the final say, finishing from close range after a fluid Italy counterattack involving Lorenzo Insigne.

Man of the match: Leonardo Bonucci (Italy)With five clearances and four interceptions – not to mention 28 completed passes out of 31 attempted – the Juventus centre-half was oustanding, keeping his old team-mate Morata so quiet he was eventually replaced. Morata, remember, had scored five in his previous four games.

Change as good as a restConte had rested eight of his Italy side against the Republic of Ireland last time out – not a bad call given they had already topped Group E and covered more distance than any other team in beating Belgium. Did they look fresher here? Just a bit, flying out of the blocks, fielding ten of the XI that had started against Belgium on matchday one.

Also, Spain’s scouts had said Italy play like a club side, with a shared attitude, belief and work ethic. Italian journalists concur, saying they cannot remember a group so united. Witness the anthems!

Spain’s character has also been important, with observers insisting the mood and spirit has been very good during their stay in France. They have been desperate to rid themselves of that feeling of defeat they suffered in Brazil, where their World Cup defence was left in tatters. Alas, as a unit they were second best in Saint-Denis and not even the mercurial skills of Iniesta could rouse them.

Source: UEFA

]]>http://sport.citifmonline.com/2016/06/27/euro-2016-dominant-italy-brush-aside-champions-spain/feed/0EURO 2016: Brady sends euphoric Ireland into the last 16http://sport.citifmonline.com/2016/06/23/euro-2016-brady-sends-euphoric-ireland-into-the-last-16/
http://sport.citifmonline.com/2016/06/23/euro-2016-brady-sends-euphoric-ireland-into-the-last-16/#respondThu, 23 Jun 2016 06:13:34 +0000http://sport.citifmonline.com/?p=59171On a day of high drama at UEFA EURO 2016, Robbie Brady’s 85th-minute goal gave the Republic of Ireland the victory against Italy they needed to qualify from Group E and set up a last-16 match with France.

It was no less than Martin O’Neill’s men deserved for a performance full of drive, ambition and no little skill. They put in a relentless effort against an Italy side that were already qualified as group winners – it was only Ireland’s second competitive win against the Azzurri after their famous triumph at the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

Ireland had been quick out of the traps, with Jeff Hendrick soon shimmying into a nice shooting position 25 metres out but his left-footed drive just missed the top corner. Salvatore Sirigu was rooted to the spot, but Gianluigi Buffon’s replacement then did well to tip over Daryl Murphy’s powerful header.

Ireland’s intensity and work-rate was giving Antonio Conte’s much-changed line-up a headache and it was only when Ciro Immobile let fly two minutes before the break that Italy first showed the threat they possessed.

Ireland had a penalty appeal turned down before Italy came again, Simone Zaza volleying narrowly over. The white and green shirts kept coming but it was a blue one that went closest next, substitute Lorenzo Insigne curling a shot off the post.

Then, with seven minutes left, came the chance Ireland thought may be their last as Wes Hoolahan fired straight at Sirigu with the goal at his mercy.

Just over 60 seconds later, though, it was Hoolahan’s pinpoint cross that met a marauding Brady’s head to send the vast bank of Ireland fans into raptures.

Man of the Match: Robbie Brady
Brady was fantastic throughout and gambled well for that late header to take his country through. He created three chances alongside his goal and produced eight crosses. Twenty-one of his 34 completed passes came in the attacking third as the wide player moved up 85 places to 33rd overall in the Barometer.

A deserved victoryThe ambition that has marked Ireland’s approach in this tournament – one below-par 45 minutes against Belgium aside – has carried them into the last 16 and now they face France. O’Neill’s side will not change their outlook against the hosts and nor should they, but the team may change again just to keep players fresh as Ireland need to play with that high intensity that has marked their campaign so far.

Much-changed AzzurriThe talking point before, during and after the game among the Italian media and public was the changes made to a side already through as group winners. Italy struggled to match the Irish approach and seemed to miss the steady, calming influence of Daniele De Rossi.

The first team will be fully reinstalled against Spain, though, and maybe Conte’s resting of some of his key players will bear fruit in the long run.